He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.
This scripture is mentioned again in Matthew 12 v 20. There are many times one can feel despondent, sick, disappointed, hopeless and depressed. One may feel like the candle just burning so little it is about to go out.
Or one may have just received bad news that leaves one crushed. Or life has thrown difficulties at you that you feel overwhelmed. Perhaps you have a sickness that does not improve with medical help and you don’t know what to do. You feel like the crushed reed.
Take heart. You are a good candidate for Jesus to heal and restore. Matt 12 v 15 says that Jesus healed all the sick among them and delivered the demon possessed.
Call upon Jesus like the blind man who called to Jesus as he passed by. He knows how weak you feel. He will come to you and strengthen you and help your flame to burn again. He will turn around your fortunes. J
Jesus said he is the truth. He does not lie. He will help you and heal you. Jesus healed me many times when I was like that brushed reed or that flickering flame . I felt like giving up many times but Jesus lifted me up again. He is faithful. Hope again, put your trust In God.
Today, the first day of the New Year 2022, my husband Brendan launched his new book On Kindle
ALL GOD’s BIBLE DREAMS
Congratulations!
Well done!
To anyone who dreams, his book will inspire and help you to pay attention and believe in your dreams.
Brendan explains in his book how God used dreams to reveal His plan to redeem mankind from the destruction that happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve sinned, gave their authority over the Earth to Satan, death resulted and they were put out of the garden.
The good news is that God had a plan to restore the kingdom of God on the Earth. He used Abraham’s family and his descendants to bring Jesus on the Earth.
John 1 v 1 and 14. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He was full of grace and truth.
This weekend we celebrate Christmas, the day when we remember that Jesus, the Saviour of the world was born. He was a baby lying in a manger in a stable. That little baby is the Word of God made flesh.
Two thousand years later, is Christmas real for to us today? Is it just a time to eat, drink and meet with friends and family?
God left us His Word in the Scriptures. The New Testament tells us the stories about Jesus life and the stories written by witnesses who lived with him on earth. The power of God is in the Word of God that we read in the Bible.
It changed me. I was given a bible by a publican, Harry Mc Court. I had free time so I began to read it from Genesis to Revelation. The power of God changed my heart as I read it. The Word of God is the true Light that gives light to every man. The words I read were giving light and truth to my soul. I believed that Jesus is the truth from that time until now.
Perhaps you attend Church and you already believe in Jesus. Praise God. To grow in faith read the scriptures for yourself. It will enlighten you and show you what is true.
The bible is a small book. I can guarantee if you read it sincerely you will be changed. The power and light of God will touch you. What God has done for me He can do for you. Start out on your journey this Christmas. Meet the Word who became flesh, today.
The last paragraph of the last book of the Old Testament ends with
Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all of Israel.
See I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents. Or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.
0n the media this week we hear of a father and mother who were sent to jail for the neglect, torture and death of their son. Twenty eight children have died in Great Britain last year, at the hands of their parents. Those who should nurture and protect the young killed them.
Laws are passed in these islands to allow a mother to kill her young in her womb. 20,000 women needed hospital care after using DIY home abortions. The law of the land allows a woman to get a pill from the chemist to get rid of a baby in her womb. These mothers hearts are not turned to their young. Where are the fathers of these babies?
The laws of God, our creator and Father of mankind, have been broken. Are we headed for total destruction? Is very creation crying out? Man is destroying the earth, the place we are given to live in. Our very climate is changing. There is a pandemic happening over the nations.
God started mankind from one family when he created Adam and Eve. God destroyed mankind because of evil in the time of Noah. God saved one family, Noah’s. He doesn’t want to destroy mankind again. God has put eternity in our hearts. If we respond to our hearts we will find God. If we don’t we will be judged.
God hasn’t changed. God is patient with us. He is merciful. He is waiting for men and women to seek him and turn from their sins. There is hope for our hearts to change. God promises to send someone who will tell us where we have gone wrong. If we listen and believe in God one will be saved from destruction. One of the signs of change will be if we turn our hearts to God, to one another and to the children and elderly.
The beginning of the New Testament tells us about John the Baptist. He called for people to turn to God. He pointed to Jesus. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Believe in Jesus and he will give us his Holy Spirit and power to live in uncertain times and we can overcome and be healed.
We will not live forever. There is a heaven and hell after we die. If we turn to Jesus he will forgive us our sins we will have eternal life. If we don’t one is faced with destruction and eternal hell.
I bought my second Santa Fe last year. It was the during the COVID Lockdown. I wanted to try out my new four wheel drive. I went to visit my sister . She was careful about visitors as she was in touch with sick people. We chatted over coffee outside in the sunshine. The driveway up to her house is quite steep. She had recently installed an iron hand rail for ease in walking down or up to her house.
I said my goodbyes and jumped in my car. I drove off. Suddenly I heard “Crunch”. My car got impailed on the iron rail and left a long dent in the back door. My new car, What will Brendan say? I shook with fear. I sat paralysed. If I drive forward or backwards the dent will get longer. I felt helpless. The joy I had, evaporated. My sister reassured me till I recovered and got out of the car. I got in touch with my son and he came to the rescue. There is a signature dent across the back passenger door.
Fast forward to this past week. The car mechanic had rang me to tell me he had finished fixing my hand break. I asked Brendan to drive me to Saintfield to pick up my car and we could go for breakfast after. Before we left the house Brendan reminded me to bring my mobile phone. We drove to pick up my car.
I paid my mechanic and was delighted with getting my car road worthy again. Brendan and I agreed to meet back in Saintfield. I drove off, turned on the window wipers, the lights, the radio and had the heating up full blast. It was a dull, wet, cold morning. I was comfortable in my wagon, sheltered from wind and rain.
The Main Street in Saintfield is busy with traffic. Cars were trying to manoeuvre aroad a parked loading lorry. I got a parking space opposite the cafe Saints. I waited for Brendan.
I ordered freshly made pancakes with bacon. Brendan was having a coffee as he was meeting someone for lunch. We chatted and I shared my happiness at getting my car back. I was even happier when the waitress brought me three fluffy freshly cooked pancakes draped with maple syrup.
Breakfast over Brendan and I parted and said we would see each other back home in Belfast. I walked back to my car to find a white sheet on the dashboard. “Oh no”a parking ticket I thought. More money! It was a notice which read “Your car moved down the hill into the car in front.” I thought that’s strange I have just got my brakes repaired. A lady came out of a shop nearby. She told me what happened. The car in front was owned by an elderly man who had just stopped to pick up his pension from the Bank. He was distressed to see my car. He was afraid to move his car. Other shop keepers came to the rescue. Some one went looking for me in the local shops and cafes. I couldn’t be found. I was happy eating my breakfast across the way without any disturbance.
A driver had the bright idea to put a brick in front of my wheels to stop it moving again. Then the gentleman could drive off. He left his phone number for me.
I thanked everyone who had helped and apologised profusely. I wanted to get out of there fast! I jumped in the car and turned the key but no response. More trouble! It just went Click. Click when I tried the key again. What is happening? Then I remembered the radio, the heater, the wipers and the lights had run down my battery.
I wasn’t too distressed this time. I called Brendan to come back to help me. In the meantime I called the car mechanic. I didn’t have long to wait. He parked alongside my car and got my battery recharged. He removed the bricks from the wheels. The traffic got jammed again on the Main Street. Brendan returned. “It’s just as well you had your mobile or you would have been stranded!“
Just the events of a morning when it should have been quite straight forward to pick up my car. There was trouble but I didn’t loose my joy. I was having a feast while people were looking for me. I’m on the road again!
I keep thinking of The Christmas song made famous by Shaking Stevens. The lyrics go,
Snow is falling all around us,
Children playing, having fun,
it’s the season, love and understanding
Merry Christmas everyone.
We’re going to have a party tonight.
Up until 2020 we in the west have celebrated Christmas with freedom, prosperity and indulging ourselves on good things to eat and drink.
Christmas time last year was not fun. There was no snow, little understanding and few parties. Due to Covid, families were separated and not allowed to meet. We had to stay home from school shops and work. Our lives have changed forever. Do we consider why Christmas is called Christmas?
We celebrate Jesus Christ being born. He came to tell us about God our Father’s love and care for us. Jesus lived on the earth for thirty three years. He died a cruel death on the cross to set us free from the sin of Adam and Eve and the power of the devil who wants to rob, steal and destroy us. Do we need Jesus at all?
We are approaching Christmas 2021. Society is trying to get back to normal inviting the public to spend and spend to make this Christmas fun and party season again.
But how can there be fun in many families who are suffering the lose of a loved one, or going through the ravages of Covid which has left many weak and discouraged. Fear, despair and disappointment has taken hold of many people.
I can say we do need Jesus. He will bring comfort to the despairing and heal the broken heart. Parties will not heal broken hearts.
Psalm 138 v 3 says As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.
Learn more about Jesus this Christmas. By praying to him.
It’s coming up to the eleventh of November when in Britain people wear poppies to remember the many who died in the world wars. They fought bravely so others could live and enjoy freedom from tyranny.
I want to share a story taken from a book I’m reading called, Return from Tomorrow by George C Ritchie. It is a story of how one man survived in a concentration camp during the war in Germany.
George was a young American soldier whose group were assigned to a concentration camp near Wupperal to bring medical help. Thousands of men had died a little bit at a time over a period of years. Some recovered but for many it was too late.
In the camp he met a man they called Wild Bill Cody. He was one of the inmates of the concentration camp . He looked strong, his eyes bright and had plenty of energy. His compassion for his fellow prisoners glowed on his face. He was an interpreter for the soldiers who came to help. He worked long hours each day helping the work to release prisoners.
To the young soldier’s surprise he discovered that Wild Bill had been in the concentration camp for six years. He had lived on the same starvation diet, slept on the same airless and disease ridden barracks as everyone else had, but without the least physical or mental deterioration.
Wild Bill explained to the young soldier about how he came to be in the camp. He had lived in a Jewish quarter of Warsaw with his wife and five children. When the Germans came they lined everyone against a wall and opened fire with machine guns. He begged to be allowed to die with his family but because he spoke German he was put in a work group. He would be of use as an interpreter.
I had to decide right then whether to let myself hate the soldiers. I was a lawyer. In my practise I had seen too often what bitterness and hate could do to people’s minds and bodies. I decided then that I would forgive and spend the rest of my life loving each person I came in contact with. Loving each person was the power that kept Wild Bill alive and well helping others in the face of adversity.
The soldier returned home and became a medical doctor. He learned to help others and in helping others he forgot about himself. He died to his own selfish needs and discovered Christ. He learned from his war experiences to overcome hate and bitterness and to forgive.
Jon van Jon in Les Miserables said “To love someone is to see the face of God”. Someone had shown him love and kindness in his life and he went on to show mercy and kindness to many others.
Jesus said Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. It is good in one’s young life to learn to be kind and merciful to others. This way of life is often learned in growing up in family. The older children helping the younger children. Learning to give and share. Learning to forgive. Learning to be patient with one another. Learning to be supportive and respectful to elderly parents. It is the way of love.
These attributes are easily carried into adulthood. It will be easy then to reach out to someone in need: the baby, the foreigner, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the lonely and the elderly.
Jesus guarantees that when one lives a life of thinking of others that person will always get help when he is in trouble.
So young people learn to be kind when you are young. When you are older and faced with trouble your kindness will be remembered by God.
We have all had our lives changed because of restrictions due to the spread of the Corona Virus. Tensions build up in the home when we don’t have the freedom we used to have. In a city in Northern Ireland the demand for rented homes according to an estate agent, has increased 50 %. There is not enough housing to meet the demand. It is caused by marriages breaking up. A new home is needed for the separated partner.
Why do we fight with one another, husbands against wives, children against parents? There is strife and no peace in our homes. It all becomes too much for the husband and father to look after and provide for his family. He is tempted to give up and leave. Why bother. His friend has left his wife and found another lady who agrees with him. “Why don’t I do the same. He is doing okay.”
The wife gives up trying to keep the family together. She complains “My husband never listens to me. He doesn’t understand. My children don’t listen to me! I hoped our lives would be better that this. I have done my best. I can’t go on any longer. All hope of things getting better is gone. I give up.”
Where is the love they had for each other at the beginning when there was only the two of them. They could have meals out together any time without arranging a baby sitter. They could have uninterrupted sleep. There were less bills to pay. No one else to disturb their peace.
The Word of God explains why all this is so. We fight not against each other but principalities and powers in heavenly places. Our husband is not the enemy. Our children are not the enemy. The devil and his fallen angels are the problem. He is at work to rob, steal and destroy our lives and families. He hates families.
All is not hopeless. There is someone who can help. There is a Redeemer. He understands the pressure we are under and he comes to set us free. His name is Jesus. He promises to care for us. He says he loves us. The Word of God says Jesus is the way the truth and the life. He came on earth to destroy the work of the devil,
When we believe in Jesus he sets us free from our sinful nature and then the evil powers of this world cannot hold us. Jesus begins to work in our lives to set us free from sins that have a grip on us. There is power in his name to deliver us from evil.
Isaiah says He was bruised for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquity and by his stripes we are healed. Jesus did it all when he died on the cross for us.
Psalm 103. Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.The devil tempts us to sin.
Don’t give up. Ask Jesus to come to help. He promises to forgive, heal and restore. He will come with his angels to save you. He is the Commander of the his heavenly army who will fight on your behalf the unseen rulers and authorities.
Healed of Cancer. Angela McCauley 